Rushing to get feedback is going to do you more harm than good
I get that drafting a novel can be a long, solitary experience. So over the course of that time, you might get antsy for someone to read what you're working on. But I can't stress enough how much you probably don't need outside feedback yet.
If you're not sure if your story works from a structural standpoint, you need to read more books. In the course of your daily reading habit, if you're reading contemporary (last five years) traditionally published books in your genre, you should be able to see what those authors do to craft stories and compare it to your own. If you haven't done that, feedback won't be helpful to you yet because you won't know how to evaluate the validity of that feedback, nor will you be able to understand it or implement it.
The rush to get feedback is also leading a lot of writers to bad sources. Your friends and family don't necessarily know anything about writing, and they'll happily lie to your face to avoid ruffling your feathers. Random beta readers you find online have no way to confirm to you that they know what they're talking about either. Paying thousands of dollars to an editor from Fiverr who claims they've got 20 years experience even though they're only 32 years old is putting you in a financial hole your story is unlikely to ever make enough money to pull you out of.
So all that means that when you're in a critical stage of your development as a writer, instead of spending time reading and writing, instead of sharpening your authorial confidence, instead of making the kinds of decisions that will lead to development of your style and practice of writing, you're being responsive to the whims of some random person just because it tickles you to get feedback.
Yes, great authors have great editors, but you are not a great author yet. The editor won't make you great.
The point in which you're ready for feedback is when you've written the draft of a story which, based on your extensive history of reading stories like it, you are confident is a strong story. Then, you edit it yourself for multiple rounds based on your extensive history of reading stories like it. Then, the people you need to get feedback from are either trusted writer friends whose work you admire and who have familiarity with reading for a critical lens, or literary agents who you can pitch for free (yes, agents will give you form rejection, but a form rejection IS FEEDBACK--it means your premise or writing didn't wow enough for more than a form rejection).
Feedback feels good. It's entertaining. "Oh my God, someone read my work and is now talking to me about it!" But until you're highly confident that you've got a winner on your hands, you probably don't need feedback yet.
Posted May 11, 2026, 4:19 PM UTC